92 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



had already come without passing by his ambush, one within 

 twenty yards of him; but he made no movement beyond 

 crouching still more flatly to the ground. Presently two came 

 directly towards him, and though he did not venture to look 

 up, I saw, by an involuntary motion of his ear, that those 

 quick organs had already warned him of their approach. 

 The two hares came through the gap together and the fox, 

 springing with the quickness of lightning, caught one and 

 killed her immediately; he then lifted up his booty and was 

 carrying it off, when my rifle-bcdl stopped his course." 

 A Pox Hunt. Captain Brown tells an amusing story of the 

 resource shown by a fox who was hcurd pressed near 

 Tamary, Ireland, which is as follows. "After a short chase, 

 Reynard disappeared, having cunningly mounted a turf stack, 

 on the top of which he lay down flat. Finding himself, at 

 last, perceived by one of the hounds, he left his retreat, 

 closely pursued by the pack, ran up a stone wall, from which 

 he sprajig on the roof of an adjoining cabin, and mounted 

 to the chimney-top. From that elevated situation he looked 

 all around him, as if carefully reconnoitring the coming 

 enemy. A cimning old hound approached, and, having 

 gained the summit of the roof, had already seized the fox 

 in imagination, when, lo ! Reynard dropped down the chimney, 

 like a fallen star into a draw-well. The dog looked wist- 

 fully down the dark opening, but dared not pursue the fugitive. 

 Meantime, whilst the hound was eagerly inspecting the 

 smoky orifice of the chimney, Reynard, half enrobed in soot, 

 had fallen into the lap of an old woman, who, surrounded 

 by a number of children, was gravely smoking her pipe, not 

 at all expecting the entrance of this abrupt visitor. ' Emiladh 

 deouili' said the affnghted female, as she threw from her 

 the black and red quadruped: Reynard grinned, growled, 

 and showed his fangs; and when the sportsmen, who had 

 secured the door, entered, they found him in possession of 

 the kitchen, the old woman and the children having retired. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



